The present invention is directed to medical and laboratory specimen collecting and testing equipment, and more specifically to an apparatus for collecting biological fluids such as blood for use in testing.
It is generally necessary in diagnosing and testing for many diseases to collect biological fluids from a patient, e.g., sputum, blood, pleural and peritoneal cavity fluids, urine, etc. for analysis. It is important during the collection handling of biological fluid specimens that the potential of specimen contamination and the spread of any infection from the specimen be minimized. In addition there is also the potential for specimen damage during the collection and/or shipment process as well as the potential for destruction of certain components of the fluid specimen.
One of the problems in collecting biological fluid specimens occurs not only during the collection of the specimens but also in the transport or shipment of the specimens after collection to the laboratory for analysis.
A typical specimen collecting apparatus is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,346. This apparatus includes a base stand which supports the specimen vial in an upright position. A funnel is inserted in the open end of the specimen vial and surrounds and encloses the upper portion of the vial. The base stand has an upwardly extending tubular wall which at least partially surrounds the vial which in connection with the cap allows the user to remove the vial without touching the surface or coming in contact with the specimen. Examples of various types of liquid containers for collecting and transporting biological fluids are shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,777,739; 3,881,465; 4,042,337; 4,084,937; 4,244,920; 4,492,258 and 4,700,714.
One such specimen collection device shown by U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,791 discloses a collection receptacle having a nipple upon which is mounted a specimen container which receives a predetermined amount of the specimen in a sealed condition. The specimen container is provided with an integrally formed cap which is placed over the opening in which the collector nipple is inserted. U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,274 discloses a midstream urine collector having a funnel which transmits urine into a cup member which is covered by a membrane cover.
A combined strip testing device and collection apparatus is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,530 and is directed to an apparatus which integrates testing and collection by having chemical reagent test strips present within the tube together with specific gravity reading means allowing immediate testing of the urine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,983 is directed towards a liquid collection system having an antiseptic member on the discharge section which uses a filter of air and bacteria impervious material to filter the urine.
It is therefore desirable to provide an easy to handle apparatus which obtains fluid samples such as blood while separating various biological components of the blood. In addition to antigen and antibodies in the blood cells, cell debris and particulates contained in the blood have a valuable medical use so that concentrating the same is beneficial. In using the present invention blood sample testing can be performed quickly and accurately with minimum time.
For some testing, it is desirable to remove the antigens from the blood so that various test procedures can be run. It is also desirable to do so with minimal exposure of laboratory personnel to the sample being tested. Previously this type of testing has been accomplished by a series of tests involving a number of different containers and expensive laboratory equipment. Mass testing using such a series of tests is expensive, time consuming, and often unsatisfactory.